All Forum Posts by: Janel Page

I own a 140 unit self storage property.  I've started looking into installing a kiosk to accept payments and handle rentals.  I've spoken with one kiosk company so far.  They have been pretty helpful.  For all the barriers I could see (so far) to making a kiosk work - they have provided what seem like practical and realistic solutions.  I am still watching some videos and reading documentation on the kiosks.  They have provided a proposal, and I think it would pay for itself in 6-9 months.  This seems like a great way to go.  I looked at the website for 1 other kiosk company, but I don't like their models as much. 

I haven't found other storage facilities in my area using kiosks.  I'm still working to visit the office of every facility near me, so I still might find one.  I think having a kiosk will be something I can market and that tenants will appreciate.  Mid-month is slow, and it's a challenge to keep an employee busy and keep the office open.   A 140 unit facility is small for a full time employee.  It's also a challenge to work on any project while covering the office.  The best way to get a bunch of customers to come in to pay or to rent a unit - is to start a project in the back of the facility, lol.  There can be 2-3 days of nobody coming in, then leave to run a quick errand, come back, and BAM - customers are waiting.  Even though the facility is set up for online bill pay, many customers don't pay that way. 

I think offering a kiosk that accepts payments 24/7, handles rentals, and using a call center to go with this could be a really great thing for my facility and my tenant customers.  The kiosk models I'm looking at hold and can dispense 5 locks.  I'm currently using Sitelink for the management software.  I have a place next to the front office door where a kiosk can be installed in the wall.  I will have to figure out how to add a vestibule or covered space around it for some protection from wind and weather. 

Are there any words of wisdom for me from anyone else who has added a kiosk to a facility about this size?  What kiosk company have you used, and why? 

Thanks in advance.  :-) 

I'm also interested in the details on the strip mall with conversion of the store to storage.  That sounds really interesting. 

Hey - hope to see you there.  We have GREAT people attending our meetings! :-) 

Nice work.  :-)  I also bought a smallish facility of 140 units Oct 2017.  Now I'm looking to buy another one.  I like hearing that your persistence paid off. 

Hi Christian.  I already posted this event in BP.  I posted for Jan, Feb, & Mar mtgs. 

@Ehsan Rishat Thank you for commenting :-) 

@Kyle Ferguson This deal came to me because I was networking with other investors and letting them know what I'm interested in.  An investor friend became aware of an off market deal and let me know about it.  He received a private email with a request for offers.  He received an email because he had communicated with the sellers that he might be interested in buying if they ever wanted to sell.  He asked and received permission to forward the email to me.  By the time I received it, I had about a day to perform initial due diligence and respond.  I figured out a price that made sense for us, we negotiated a little, and we bought it. 

For future deals. I am still catching my breath and getting things caught up. I'm working on some biz reorg stuff. I just hired a property mgr for our residential rentals. I'm doing some refinancing. I'm almost done with a bunch of projects which are laying a strong foundation for future growth. I want to focus on bigger deals, rather than houses. Another storage facility, or a multifamily property, because I know those. In the next few months, I will come up with a more specific plan than that to target properties I want to acquire. Mean while, I'm still working on my rehab plan for the current storage facility, and increasing NOI.

@Mathew Wray 

1.  I'm particularly interested in buying another storage facility, or more residential rentals.  As long as the numbers make sense.  I have tried out other ways to make money in RE.  I find I like managing cash flow deals.  So that's the primary, long-term plan.  My spouse wants to also become FT in our real estate biz.  So we might do some additional wholesaling or a few flips a year to help bring in capital as needed. 

2.  As I'm sure you know, rates are always changing.  We closed in Oct 2017.  The rates and terms would be different now.  5.75% rate, there was a loan fee (don't have it in front of me), 25 yr amortization, and 25% down.  Rate is locked for 5 years, with a rate review every 5 years. 

3. The only thing I'd do differently is devote more time to this deal (and maybe let some other deals go) when I was going through everything. Things worked out, but I was crazy busy with 3 other deals while figuring out this deal. a) rehab/flip on a house. b) trying to exercise redemption rights on another house foreclosure deal. c) helping someone bid on a manufactured home at private auction, then loaning them money from a self directed IRA for purchase + rehab costs. I also continued to self-manage some other rentals and made some improvements to them.

I was so distracted with all this going on at once.  All I wanted to do was dive into learning the storage, but I had to keep all the very different plates spinning.  Ack!  

@George Hoover Thank you.  It took a lot of work and a lot of missed deals to feel more comfortable with just jumping in.  Happy New Year :-)

@Tracy Shepherd Thank you. I like it. I'd like to add another! I'm working out a plan to make some updates to the facility and cash-out refinance when it makes sense. I'm going to be talking to 2 local banks soon about a good strategy for this. BRRRR for commercial... yay!